Background: Monitoring public health workforce is one of the essential functions of the public health system. Objective: The aim of the study was to identify the specialities for physicians and dentists related to public health in the years 1951-2013, and analyse of available data on physicians and dentists certified as public health specialists (PHS) in 2003-2015. Material and Methods: The historical analysis covers a relevant regulations of a minister in charge of health...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Value-based healthcare (VBHC) is considered to be the solution that will improve quality and decrease costs in healthcare. Many hospitals are implementing programs on the basis of this strategy, but rigorous scientific reports are still lacking. In this pilot study, we present the first-year outcomes of a VBHC program for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) management that focuses on highly coordinated care, task differentiation of providers, and continuous home monitoring...

BACKGROUND: Capillary leakage, secondary to endothelial breakdown, is common in patients undergoing major surgical procedures with extensive tissue injury and this is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Prostacyclin has been ascribed cytoprotective properties together with its vasodilatory and antiplatelet effects. The present pilot study investigated the safety and endothelial protective effects of low-dose prostacyclin infusion. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A randomized placebo-controlled pilot study evaluating the effect of prostacyclin (iloprost) infusion (1...

OBJECTIVE: To understand the most important steps required to implement immediate postpartum long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) programs in different Georgia hospitals and the barriers to implementing such a program. METHODS: This was a qualitative study. We interviewed 32 key personnel from 10 Georgia hospitals working to establish immediate postpartum LARC programs. Data were analyzed using directed qualitative content analysis principles. We used the Stages of Implementation to organize participant-identified key steps for immediate postpartum LARC into an implementation guide...

BACKGROUND: Little is known about how accountable care organizations (ACOs) participate with rural health providers. This pilot study examines ACO participation with rural health clinics (RHCs). METHODS: Telephone interviews with 8 ACO administrators were conducted to determine the early implementation experiences of these organizations, and their participation with rural health providers, such as RHCs, using qualitative content analysis, ACO characteristics, and emerging themes from the ACO executive responses was identified...

BACKGROUND: Magnetic anal sphincter augmentation is a novel technique for the treatment of patients with fecal incontinence. OBJECTIVE: The current study reports the long-term effectiveness and safety of this new treatment modality. DESIGN: This was a prospective multicenter pilot study. SETTINGS: The study was performed at 4 clinical sites in Europe and the United States. PATIENTS: The cohort included patients with severe fecal incontinence for ≥6 months who had previously failed conservative therapy and were implanted with a magnetic anal sphincter device between 2008 and 2011...

Safer conception strategies can prevent HIV transmission between HIV-discordant partners while allowing them to conceive. However, HIV care providers in sub-Saharan Africa report they are not trained in safer conception, and patients are not routinely offered safer conception services. This mixed-methods pilot study evaluated the impact, acceptability, and feasibility of a novel Safer Conception Counseling Toolkit among providers and patients in Kenya. We enrolled 20 HIV-positive women, 10 HIV-discordant couples, and 10 providers from HIV care and treatment clinics...

The excessive CO2 emissions in the atmosphere from anthropogenic activity can be divided into point sources and diffuse sources. The capture of CO2 from flue gases of large industrial installations and its conversion to fuels and chemicals with fast catalytic processes seems technically possible. Some emerging technologies are already being demonstrated on an industrial scale. Others are still being tested on a laboratory or pilot scale. These emerging technologies can be implemented in a time-window ranging from 5 to 20 years...

BACKGROUND: Although effective methods for venous thromboembolism prophylaxis (VTE-P) have been known for decades, reliable implementation has been challenging. OBJECTIVE: Develop reliable VTE-P systems for adult and for pediatric patients to reduce preventable venous thromboembolism (VTE). DESIGN: We used a discovery and diffusion system to first develop an effective system in 1 hospital location, and then spread the principle best practices across the entire 22-hospital system...

The evaluation of the culture of patient safety in hospitals is nowadays considered as a management too, since it helps to identify problem areas and provide valuable information for planning improvements. This study explored the reliability and validity of the Brazilian version of the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture, an instrument that evaluates characteristics of patient safety culture among hospital staff. The reliability of the instrument was evaluated by analyzing the internal consistency of each dimension...

Contamination of grains with mycotoxins results in a dietary background exposure of the general population. In occupational settings such as during processing of raw materials as in milling, an additional mycotoxin exposure by inhalation is possible. Biomonitoring is an integrative approach to assess human exposure from various sources and by all routes. To investigate possible workplace exposure to mycotoxins, a pilot study was conducted that compared levels of urinary biomarkers in mill workers to those in a control group with dietary mycotoxin intake alone...

PURPOSE: This pilot study investigated the possible transfer effect on reading ability in children with reading difficulties after a systematic intervention to train and compensate for reading deficiencies by using applications in smartphones and tablets. The effects of using assistive technology (AT) one year after the interventions were completely studied. School related motivation, independent learning and family relations were also considered. METHOD: 35 pupils aged 10-12 years participated...

Racial/ethnic minority women in a disadvantaged urban neighborhood may experience a high rate of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. This brief report examined the frequency of a PTSD diagnosis and subthreshold PTSD among 72 female participants with depressive symptoms in a mindfulness-based intervention for depression at an urban federally qualified health center (FQHC). The MINI International Neuropsychiatric Interview was used to assess PTSD diagnosis or subthreshold PTSD, and the Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology-Self-Report (IDS-SR) was used to assess depressive symptoms...

OBJECTIVE: To test the feasibility of a randomized-controlled trial measuring the impact of an adapted mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) in female adolescents with chronic pain. METHODS: This was a single center, single-blind, prospective, experimental, longitudinal trial conducted in a pediatric tertiary care center. Participants had a history of chronic pain during at least three months. They were randomized into an intervention group or a wait-list control group...

The rapid population growth in urban India has outpaced the municipal capacity to build essential infrastructures that make life in cities safe and healthy. Local and national governments alike are grappling with the challenges of urbanization with thousands migrating from villages to cities. Thus, urbanization in India has been accompanied by a concentration of poverty and urban public healthcare has emerged as one of the most pressing priorities facing our country. Newborn mortality rates in urban settings are lower than rural areas, early neonatal deaths account for greater proportion than late neonatal deaths...

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a psychiatric disease characterized by alternating episodes of mania and depression. Lithium (Li) represents the mainstay treatment for BD, although a significant proportion of patients show insufficient or no response. Li is also associated with potentially severe side effects, including renal effects. Several studies reported that Li may induce reduction of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) in patients under long-term treatment. The biological systems and the genetic factors involved in susceptibility to Li-induced renal-side effects have been scarcely explored...

BACKGROUND: There has been growing interest under the Research Domain Criteria initiative to investigate behavioral constructs and their underlying neural circuitry. Abnormalities in reward processes are salient across psychiatric conditions and may precede future psychopathology in youth. However, the neural circuitry underlying such deficits has not been well defined. Therefore, in this pilot, we studied youth with diverse psychiatric symptoms and examined the neural underpinnings of reward anticipation, attainment, and positive prediction error (PPE, unexpected reward gain)...

STUDY OBJECTIVES: The majority of adolescents with chronic insomnia have physical health or psychiatric comorbidities; insomnia is also associated with greater negative daytime symptoms (e.g., depressive symptoms) and reduced overall health-related quality of life (HRQOL). However, to date, there has been limited attention to treatment of insomnia in this population. The purpose of this study was to determine the preliminary efficacy of a brief cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) intervention on sleep, psychological symptoms, and HRQOL outcomes in adolescents with insomnia and co-occurring physical or psychiatric comorbidities...